I spent some time this morning scrolling through my Twitter feed. It’s not something I usually do because my feed these days is filled with politics and rants. The world is an angry place to be and Twitter is a place to vent.

Even with my lack of interest in the news (better for my mental health if I don’t read or watch it), social media doesn’t let me escape from what’s trending in the world. Today’s news centred around the drama that’s unfolding in America with Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

I’m not going to pretend I know much about American politics (or even British politics). I have zero interest but America plays its dramas and scandals out on a global screen so even over the other side of the Pond, it reaches us. We watch it too.

My brief Twitter-fuelled introduction into Kavanaugh left me feeling unsettled. It’s ugly to watch both sides throw accusations when the truth is known only to those involved. Either Kavanaugh is lying or Dr. Christine Blassey Ford is – that’s the bottom line.

What I see here is an Americanized, altered version of Mount Olympus with men filled with a Zeus complex. Like Zeus, they can assault, rape and trick women without ever having to take responsibility for their actions. Does the head of this pseudo-pantheon ensure justice is done or is it just a regular occurrence in the ‘boys club’ of which he’s a VIP member?

Women and victims of sexual assault are angry, righteously angry. #IBelieveHer and #MeToo gives us a voice. From the thousands of victims that have chosen to share their stories they all can’t be lying. They just can’t. They are showing what happens to women on a daily basis. They are telling their truth. They have nothing to gain from revealing their history that they’ve chosen to keep hidden.

I understand that one of the questions regarding Dr. Blassey Ford’s allegations is that her assault was not reported at the time of the attack. Money, power and privilege are prevalent in today’s society, just as they were back when the alleged attack took place. Can you imagine how scared a teenager would be to report such an attack in a town that was ruled by the men of Zeus? They would have crushed her back then as they are trying to do today.

Standing up to Zeus does not come without consequences. The supreme power will attack, humiliate and degrade to come out on top. Just ask Hera – this victim wanted justice but was tortured by her rapist to stop her rebelling against him.

The bitterness and misplaced anger Hera displayed after her failed rebellion shows up today. Women have difficulty supporting other women, and there’s a quiet rage that is turning from cold to hot. #MeToo and #IBelieveHer give voices and maybe, with enough power behind it, it will help topple those at the top of Olympus.

But this is where women can only go so far. We need help with the final shove to make the mountain crumble. Even though we have been fighting for female equality, power is still mainly in the hands of men. Men need to feel the anger too because for every accusation that finds its way to light, men who don’t hold the same moral standards as those looking down from American-Olympus (and its global counterparts) are being tarred with the same brush.

I went to the library with my 11-year old daughter this week and I watched her like a mama bear. She was reading in a chair a few metres away and I was monitoring any man who came near her, even though they weren’t looking at her. I caught myself doing this and realised that I had become entangled in the fear that comes from injustice: every man is a predator and women are fair game.

By allowing men in power to exercise their Zeus complex without constraint, we are creating a divide. It’s about them and us. Men vs. Women. And we will all lose if men don’t rise up in support of the victims. We will create a gap that will be almost impossible to close.

In witchcraft, we constantly try to seek balance (or at least I do). I have written books about female empowerment and I want women to rise above the inequalities of society. I want my daughter to have a voice, to matter, to have an equal chance, to not be a victim.

We can look at the history of witchcraft to see how society has changed very little since the European witch hunts. Men are still calling the shots and ruling the fates of women or those perceived weaker than them. We’ve created something ugly and it requires all of us, men and women, to remove the cancerous cells of society so we can all heal.

Zeus has had his time in power. Now his energy needs to be put back in the toy box so other qualities of the Divine Masculine can come out to play. Instead of attack, we need protection. Instead of anger, we need compassion. Instead of fear, we need love.

Lyn Thurman is a witch and priestess on the south coast of England. She's the author of The Inner Goddess Revolution and Goddess Rising, and the creator of the Sea Whispers oracle.
She's also a director of the Quiet Rebel Bureau: an independent mind-body-spirit publishers that helps quiet rebels be heard. They publish, coach and help market emerging authors who want to change the world, one reader at a time.
When she's not writing, she is breathing magic into business through Biz-Witchery (or obsessing over vegan cakes). You can read more about the author here.

It’s nice to see someone mention about the Divine Masculine. Too often, I feel as it has been an overlooked subject matter with regards to Spirituality/Pagan/Witchcraft (at least from my experiences).

Some of my thoughts as of late, as one who *does* live in the U.S. – what about those who were born intersex or trans and are male identified? To embrace one’s male-ness and masculinity when all this is going on.

Being male and embracing one’s masculine side should not be seen as a threat.

I guess my fear is that it will get to the point where society will not be able to tell the difference between the positive male and masculine and the negative or shadow side of it. It will become too fearful and repress any masculine energy, which in turn would cause a negative expression of masculine to burst forth because of the wound to it.

Both masculine and feminine have “postive” aspects and “shadow” or “negative” aspects.

We have seen how the feminine is wounded. But has society acknowledged how the masculine is wounded?

Laura

I agree with your concerns and am also glad Lyn has brought up the Divine Masculine. The negative aspects of the Divine Masculine seem most prominent – Zeus, Yahweh – and modern paganism should have something better to offer (and I believe does). Many men are supportive – and at times active – in women’s struggle to end injustice against women (I saw a fair amount of men at the Women’s March in Chicago!). Supporting women should not entail suppressing masculinity – just seperating masculinity from misogyny…

I agree with you completely. I might write more about the Sacred Masculine in another post because there needs more to be said. I had the greatest insight into the DM after coming down from Glastonbury Tor – looking back at St. Michael’s Tower on the Tor.

The masculine, sacred or otherwise, is misrepresented and I worry that it’s going to cause a huge divide. I don’t want that. I have supportive men in my life, I have sons and I enjoy male company. I appreciate and respect balanced male energy (regardless of which body it’s in). This world.. what are we to do?

I don’t know to be honest. But when I was working on doing healing work with regards to my 19th century natal chart, I noticed how much of a huge deficit there is for healing the wounded masculine.

This chart has a Moon in Aries conjunct Chiron, so a wounded (emotionally) masculine aspect. I work with essences mostly and trying to work on that was far harder than working with my other chart (Pluto conjunct to a Cancer Moon). There was so much out there for healing the wounded feminine, for women’s support, but barely anything…if at all, for healing the wounded masculine and men’s support. It was frustrating and I even felt angry about it.

I think that there needs to be an understanding of postive use of masculine aspects such as aggression, assertiveness. Many seem to view these as bad regardless which is problematic because then that feeds into the Shadow.

I personally feel, at least in the U.S., there has been a severe polarization of masculine and feminine. Neither being balanced nor integrated, and both being repressed into the Shadow.

See, on a U.S. dollar bill $1, there is an Eagle. It has in its talons, on the one side Arrows (for war if necessary) and on the other, an Olive branch. There is a symbol of balanced energies, but somewhere along the line this is forgotten.

John Gills

I agree that both the feminine and masculine must work together for lasting change.

My fear is that my fogie generation has so internalized the misogynistic worldviews that existed during our childhood and youth that many of us will go to our graves unchanged.

Right now Pluto is transiting through Capricorn, so we are seeing the “shadow” side of Capricorn being dredged up.

Capricorn is generally considered the Father of the zodiac (Cancer the Mother).

Abuse of power, in this case men, by people in authority (authority being one of Capricorn’s associations).

Saturn, Capricorn’s ruling planet, dealing with borders, boundaries, walls, and such are also at play. A lot of this talk of “national boundaries/borders”, Trump’s talk of the U.S. – Mexico Wall. This is also all of the Capricorn/Saturn connection.

Anything associated with Capricorn/Saturn, taken to the extreme (unhealthy level) is essentially what to look at.

Pluto’s transit is also bringing to light all of the sexual traumas (again mainly caused by men in positions of power). Pluto dealing with sexual trauma, but also therapeutic healing in bringing the repressed emotions to light for release. A toxin cleanser so to speak.

Judy Hall’s book, “Hades Moon” discusses the Capricorn – Cancer axis (it’s one I work with a lot). It might help some understand a bit of this current Pluto transit.